NOAA is committed to helping governments,

businesses, and communities manage climate risks, adapt

to changing conditions, and reduce the threat of

climate change.

With global satellite measurements dating to the

1960s, NOAA maintains the world's largest and oldest

archive of satellite- and Earth-based observations. Along

with NOAA’s modeling capabilities, this information

enables NOAA to respond to millions of annual requests

for climate data vital to planning and operations across all

sectors of society.

NOAA is a global leader in reporting on the state and

changing state of essential climate variables. As the

official U.S. source of information about climate

variations and change, NOAA reports on conditions daily,

weekly, monthly, seasonally, and yearly.

NOAA’s integrated

climate services document

the past, monitor the

present, project the future,

and assess the impacts of

climate. Examples of these

services follow.

ResearchNOAA researchers worldwide collect data that

significantly support the ability to forecast changes in

climatic systems. This uninterrupted, reliable monitoring

of the Earth's atmosphere yields important clues about

long-term global changes, improving predictions of

climate variations in the shorter term, such as during cold

spells and periods of drought, and over centuries

and beyond.

NOAA deployed the first-of-its-kind buoy to

monitor ocean acidification. A result of carbon absorbed

by the oceans, acidification threatens ocean and inland

ecosystem health. Launched in the Gulf of Alaska, this

buoy provides data to support research essential to

predicting future conditions. NOAA leads the way in

identifying and understanding acidification’s effects on

ecosystems and living marine resources.

NOAA scientists measure ozone all over the world,

deploying instruments to also measure the trace gases and

aerosol particles that affect its abundance. Precise

measurements taken from satellites, balloons, and ground

and aircraft instruments can detect small regional changes

over long periods and provide maps of global and local

distribution. These data are used to validate and verify

NOAA climate models.

NOAA Climate Services

National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationU.S. Department of Commerce

Climate change is real. It is here, and it is happening now, in our backyards and around the globe.

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D.Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and AtmosphereAdministrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA’s global science platforms include three

aircraft and two research vessels. The ships, Ronald H.Brown and Ka’imimoana, collect oceanic and

atmospheric data such as solar radiation, carbon dioxide,

and other fundamental building blocks for studying

climate change. NOAA and international scientists use

this data to analyze and model short- and long-term

variability in global wind patterns and ocean circulation.

Long-term data records are used to understand and

predict the impacts of future climate change.

Observing, Monitoring and Data Stewardship

NOAA’s 92 observing systems demonstrate the

immense value of high quality data. Monitoring our

planet from the sun to the ocean floor, these systems

provide the consistent, non-stop monitoring required for

effective climate models, forecasts, and projections.

NOAA’s Carbon Tracker is widely acknowledged

as the most open and effective approach to date for

estimating CO2 emissions and uptake, especially at large

spatial scales.

NOAA’s 114 climate stations comprise the U.S.

Climate Reference Network, which tracks national

average changes in temperature and precipitation trends

with exceptional precision.

NOAA’s Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group

collects and analyzes air samples from about 100 clean

air sites around the world. These measurements go into

the NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index and are used to

validate and verify NOAA climate models.

NOAA’s six World Data Centers effectively link

users across the scientific community to many millions of

climate data sets.

NOAA sea-level standards, which have been adopted

by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for all phases of

designing, engineering, and managing civil works

programs, are critical to understanding climate impacts on

coastal communities and economies.

Modeling, Prediction and Projections

NOAA’s state-of-the-science models provide the

best possible information on future climate for regional,

national, and global decision-making across all sectors. In

vulnerable areas, for example, infrastructure can be

designed with a better understanding of projected sea-level

rise and/or changes in hurricane frequency and intensity.

NOAA’s global climate model suite supports

operational weather, hurricane, and climate forecasts

from days to decades into the future. NOAA produces

operational climate forecasts and information services,

including 6- to 10-day and 8- to 14-day climate outlooks

and monthly and seasonal precipitation and

temperature outlooks.

NOAA’s climate modeling capabilities help provide

a credible picture of the future and inform effective

policy choices for making climate-related decisions

essential to U.S. needs, including national security and

considerations about energy technologies that might

exacerbate global climate change.

NOAA scientists are simulating the entire global

carbon cycle to better understand how the cycle works

and help predict how it will act and react in the future.

The Earth System Modeling effort spans the Earth’s

atmosphere, oceans, fossil fuels,

and terrestrial ecosystems.

AssessmentsScientific assessments

inform our understanding

of climate – how and why it

is changing and what the

changing conditions mean to

our lives and livelihoods.

More than 120 NOAA scientists were among those

awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their collective

scientific and technological contributions to the U.N.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment

reports. Sixty-four percent of federal scientists

contributing to the 2001 assessment and 73 percent of

federal scientists contributing to the 2007 assessment

were from NOAA.

NOAA led 8 of the 21 Synthesis and Assessment

Products on climate change under the U.S. Global

Change Research Program and the North American

Regional Climate Change Assessment Program.

NOAA led development of the Global ClimateChange Impacts in the United States, a report produced

with a consortium of experts from 13 U.S. science

agencies and several universities and research institutes.

Compiling years of scientific research and underscoring

regional impacts, this report takes into account new data

that were unavailable when prior major national and

global studies were being conducted.

Capacity-Building, Outreach and Training

NOAA supports

education, training and

public awareness/extension

programs to strengthen

national, regional, and local

capacity. There is substantial

outreach to strengthen

understanding of climate-

related coastal and

other hazards.

NOAA has long-term partnerships with many

universities and other institutions, including 22

Cooperative Research Institutes; 30 Sea Grant Programs

coordinated under the National Sea Grant College

Program; and six regional Undersea Research Centers.

NOAA is a respected international leader, partnering

with the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for

International Development, other governments, and

international and multi-lateral organizations to exchange

expertise and provide capacity-building and technical

assistance to colleagues around the world.

NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

and Princeton University host a unique graduate

program in atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Students,

researchers, and faculty can access NOAA’s super-

computing resources and engage in climate modeling and

climate-related policy.

NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program has sent more

than 500 schoolteachers, from kindergarten through

college-level, to sea. The program offers teachers rich

exposure to work aboard NOAA ships where they

conduct research under the tutelage of scientists and crew.

Climate Services: On-the-Ground Delivery

With many partners, NOAA delivers regional and

national climate services on multiple scales. Research,

modeling, and observing systems are the backbone of these

services. Nine NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and

Assessments focus research on

regional climate services. Six

NOAA Regional Climate

Centers deliver climate services

with user needs upfront, from

research through application

and education.

g National Weather Service Regional Climate

Services

g National Marine Sanctuaries

g Coastal Services Centers

g Regional Teams

n Regional Integrated Sciences and

Assessments

n Regional Climate Centers

n Sea Grant

n State Climatologists

n National Estuarine Research Reserves

NOAA fosters leadership and networks to

implement drought monitoring at federal, state, and local

levels. Coastal communities count on NOAA climate

services for planning and decision-making. Climate

assessments help fishery managers understand likely

shifts in migration patterns. Whether they are local

officials computing budgets for next year’s snow

removal, or city planners grappling with options for water

resources, decision-makers across all sectors require the

reliable, relevant, and easily accessible information about

current and projected impacts that NOAA provides.

Climate LiteracyClimate Literacy: The Essential Principles of

Climate Science, a product of the U.S. Global Climate

Research Program and compiled by an interagency group

led by NOAA, explains how climate influences people

and how people influence climate. Using the guide as a

framework, NOAA is working with the National Science

Teachers Association and other partners to revise state

educational standards related to climate issues.

Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciencewww.noaa.gov/climateliteracy.html

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United Stateswww.globalchange.gov

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Science Service Stewardship

www.noaa.gov

Regional ClimateServices Partners

September 2009